They always were very important. You should see how they work in Japan. If you do not have some sort of connection you do not go anywhere. @cryotosensei could probably tell you more about this, too. The connection wars are just unbelievable.

That's true. I also think nepotism (and personal connections, in general) will become more important again.

Undisciplined

econ

The Certifiers Rule, So Be Prepared

Rothbardian_fanatic

True, but there has to be another way to winnow the chaff, so to speak. If there are lots of applicants, you cannot give them all a trial run on the job, so you have to get down to the few that you may want to give that trial run to. Yes, there will still be interviews and such, but you may have been on the receiving end of an interview in the past where they wound up choosing the wrong candidate.